Today's Wordle Answer #444 - September 6, 2022 Solution And Hints

We started this week in Wordle with a whoop, literally — that was yesterday's solution word. It was a whoop we had to work for, but it was worth it. Today's puzzle is a fresh challenge, and we want to make sure you crack the code in time to preserve your streak, so here are some hints and tips to help you do that. If you don't mind the spoiler upfront, skip on down to the second section, where we reveal the solution word.

Today's word isn't unusual, but the letter combination isn't the most straightforward. There are two consecutive vowels — "A" and "U" — in the second and third letter positions, and there's a repeated consonant, "T," as the first and last letter of the word. The word means to mock or sarcastically jeer at someone or something. Spoiler alert: the solution comes next, so you might want to cease scrolling if you don't want to feel like you were spoon-fed the answer.

The solution to today's Wordle puzzle (#444 – September 6, 2022) is taunt. It's "a sarcastic challenge or insult," according to Merriam-Webster, intended to hurt or provoke someone. The word taunt has an interesting etymology — it's from the Old French saying "tant pour tant," which means "like for like," or "tit for tat." Etymonline reports that it could also be from the French words "tanter" or "tenter," meaning "to tempt, try, provoke." The Oxford Dictionary says the earliest usage of the verb was in the context of exchanging banter, but it has progressed to mean a spiteful, malicious jest.

We solved the puzzle in three tries today, which was thrilling. We've been experimenting with alternative starter words, and today we chose the word pouch as our first guess. After that, we tried the word stunt, which turned all but two tiles green. We figured out the solution by the third guess, and we hope you do even better and so avoid being the object of your friends' taunting.